Every summer, fans anxiously await July 1st as free agency day in the NHL, a time when all NHLers who have played long enough to earn unrestricted free agent status get a chance to cash in on their hard work and luck. It's also the first day that teams may go after a different type of free agent, the restricted free agent (RFA). These players are free to sign wherever they would like, but that doesn't mean they'll end up with the team which signs them.
Welcome to the complicated world of restricted free agency.